Over the weekend, "a source close to Williams" said the NBC anchor will not keep his scheduled appearance on "Late Show with David Letterman," the same show where he erroneously claimed he was aboard a helicopter that took enemy fire. (CNN) | On Sunday, Politico's Mike Allen suggested that appearing on the talk show might be a "high-profile, controlled way for Williams to clear the air." (Politico) | On Saturday, the embattled "NBC Nightly News" anchor announced he would take a hiatus from the show for "several days," adding that he planned to return and "be worthy of the trust" of his audience. (Poynter) | Meanwhile, media reporters and critics are contemplating the scandal's affect on Williams' career.

Jian Ghomeshi leaves CBC under dramatic circumstances: The broadcaster fired the host, whose show “Q” has gained a foothold below the 49th parallel as well, citing “information” it had received about him. (CBC) | “Over the past few months the Star has approached Ghomeshi with allegations from three young women, all about 20 years his junior, who say he was physically violent to them without their consent during sexual encounters or in the lead-up to sexual encounters.” (Toronto Star) | Ghomeshi acknowledges his “tastes in the bedroom may not be palatable to some folks” and says an ex-girlfriend launched a “campaign of harassment, vengeance and demonization against me” and that one person “began colluding with a freelance writer who was known not to be a fan of mine and, together, they set out to try to find corroborators to build a case to defame me.” (Jian Ghomeshi’s Facebook) | Canadaland’s Jesse Brown says he’s been working with the Toronto Star investigating Ghomeshi.

Zakaria plagiarized in TV show, critics say: Mysterious media critics @blippoblappo and @crushingbort tell Poynter they will have another post on Our Bad Media later this morning outlining what they say are examples of Fareed Zakaria lifting text, this time for his CNN show, “GPS.” Here’s a video that will accompany the piece.

@blippoblappo and @crushingbort’s last post, in August, outlined suspect passages in Zakaria’s 2008 book, “The Post-American World” and in stories in Newsweek and Foreign Affairs. Neither W.W. Norton, which published the book, Newsweek, Foreign Affairs nor Atlantic Media, where Zakaria is now a contributing editor, replied to Poynter’s requests for comment.

Foley family describes frustrations with U.S. government: The FBI first told James Foley‘s family they’d be prosecuted if they paid ransom to his captors, then advised them prosecution would be unlikely, Rukmini Callimachi reports.

Good morning. We’re nearly there. Here are 10 media stories, plus a fact that made me sigh and quietly review my life choices: The Notorious B.I.G.’s “Ready to Die” came out 20 years ago Saturday.

Foley, Tice parents speak: “I really feel that our country let Jim down,” James Foley‘s mother Diane Foley tells Anderson Cooper. She says her son “was sacrificed because of just a lack of coordination, lack of communication, lack of prioritization.” (CNN) | Earlier this week, Austin Tice‘s parents told Clarissa Ward, “If an American citizen is held hostage overseas, you are discouraged and disparaged if you even consider paying a reward for a precious human child, because you don’t know where that reward money’s gonna go.

After Steven Sotloff, a freelance journalist who wrote for TIME and other publications, was threatened by Islamic state fighters Aug. 19, the editors at his former student newspaper scrambled to get the news out. The Central Florida Future — the weekly at the University of Central Florida where Sotloff had worked as a senior staff writer — was coming up on its Wednesday production deadline, and it had big news to report. Read more

Happy Labor Day weekend. Andrew Beaujon’s back on Tuesday. Thanks for reading this week.

Ask him about his cholesterol: The nation’s only full-time barbecue editor — no, he doesn’t weigh 400 pounds — understands why readers are obsessed with his health: “My job requires that I travel from one end of the state to the other eating smoked brisket, one of the fattiest cuts on the steer. And I can’t forget to order the pork ribs, sausage, and beef ribs,” Daniel Vaughn writes. Former Texas Monthly editor in chief Jake Silverstein says Vaughn has “figured out how to make the barbecue lifestyle compatible with staying above ground.” (Texas Monthly)

What to do when you’re arrested: Whether it happened in Ferguson or elsewhere, first you should call the station where you were booked to get your arrest report.

Digital ad revenue to pass TV in 2017: According to Magna Global forecasts, “television revenues are expected to grow 2.2% this year,” Nathalie Tadena writes. “Newspaper and magazine ad revenue are expected to decline 8.9% and 11% respectively, while digital ad revenues are expected to jump 17% this year to $50 billion.” (The Wall Street Journal) | “The research firm declared digital ad revenue will hit $72 billion by 2017, pulling slightly ahead of television at $70.5 billion.” (The Wrap)

The perils of freelance war reporting: GlobalPost went “above and beyond” in working for James Foley’s release before he was killed by Islamic State militants, according to Medill’s Ellen Shearer. “But other freelancers may not get that kind of backing or have access to the infrastructure that a staff journalist would, she said.” (AP via NYT) | Freelance journalist Austin Tice, who has been missing for two years, is believed to be held by the Syrian government, Lara Jakes reports.

American journalist freed in Syria: On Sunday, UN peacekeepers received Peter Theo Curtis, who was kidnapped in 2012, and turned him over to the U.S. “According to German newspaper die Welt am Sonntag, ‘something was given in return for his release’.” Curtis was “reportedly held by the al-Nusra Front or by splinter groups allied with the al-Qaeda-affiliated group.” (Al Jazeera) | Previously: The U.S. declined to pay ransom for James Foley, who was killed by Islamic State militants last week. (Poynter)

UK intel ID’s person believed to be Foley’s killer: And “sources have said that rampant media speculation about the identity of the killer may be off base.” (NBC News) | Medill professor Ellen Shearer on Foley’s return to the front lines: “Passion prevailed.

James Foley’s last months: Cassandra Vinograd tells how James Foley‘s family communicated with his captors. (NBC News) | “Some messages were political and some were financial.” (CNN) | The last email sent to his family (GlobalPost) | Shane Bauer: “Like my family, [Foley's family] probably sometimes thought they should do more to try and convince his captors to let him go. Other times they likely reasoned they should stay quiet, hoping that silence would give the hostage takers the opportunity to quietly release him. It’s a hideous position to be in.” (Mother Jones) | NYT editorial: “There is no simple answer on whether to submit to terrorist extortion.” (NYT) || Foley’s family establishes journalism scholarship at Marquette.

“The entire world is appalled by the brutal murder of Jim Foley by the terrorist group, ISIL,” President Barack Obama said on Wednesday. “He reported from difficult and dangerous places, bearing witness to the lives of people a world away.”

Around the time of the speech, I was discussing the impact of honest photographic reporting on an Associated Press Photo Managers’ online panel. One the many takeaways from the panel: The role of the photojournalist is often misunderstood. These women and men see themselves as the eyes and ears of the community. One just needs to ponder the disconcerting experience of seeing this focused group of individuals who rush to the epicenter of drama and trauma while others flee for safety. Read more